Uncertain
by WorldofWarCraftFanatic16
Summary: What if Ian had shot Riley like he had said he would in the underground tunnels? This is a very short scene following that. Please tell me what you think. Rated T because of one swear word.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own anything from the National Treasure movie.

Summary: What if Ian had shot Riley in the underground tunnels like he had threatened to do? This is just a very short scene following that.

A/N: I posted it for Save Changes to Normal who has been telling me to post something. Please tell what you think. If you are looking for some really good stories, then you need to head over to her profile and check out her National Treasure stories ;)

* * *

"It's uncertain as of now if he's going to make it," the doctor said, looking sadly at them. "I am sorry; there is no further information at this time." 

Those words made Ben feel ill. He numbly thanked the doctor and then turned back to the others, unaware of the sad looks the other nurses were giving him. There was a light touch on his shoulder and he turned his head to see Abigail beside him. She looked as worn as him and her eyes reflected the same sadness that coursed through him.

"He's going to make it, Ben," she whispered, trying to sound confident for him. Ben could only nod, hoping that she was right.

It had been three hours since they had been in the underground tunnel, searching for the Mason's treasure and it had been three hours since Ian had pulled the trigger and shot his best friend. Ben could see the scene happening again and again and there was nothing he could do to stop it. Why couldn't he have done something?

"He's awake now, if you would like to see him briefly. You can't stay too long; however, he needs to recover."

A different nurse had approached them and Ben felt Abigail tighten the grip of her hand on his arm, almost in relief to hear that Riley had at least woken up. It was a good sign. The nurse left after telling them what room their friend was in and ultimately leaving the choice of what to do up to them.

"Go see him, Ben," Abi said softly. "Let him know that we're all here for him."

Ben gave her a tight hug, holding onto her for a moment, before letting her go and looking over her shoulder to his father. Patrick Gates nodded to him as if to say for him to go ahead on his own. Ben turned to elevator that would carry him up to the hallway where Riley's room was and got inside without another word.

He entered Riley's room to find his friend lying on the only bed in the room, hooked up to the various instruments that monitored his life signs. It was an eerie scene to Ben, who never wanted to see his friend in this type of setting ever again.

If he ever made it out of this one.

Ben shook the negative thoughts from his head as he approached the bed. The room was deathly quiet, only the soft sounds of the machines could be heard. Ben half thought that Riley was sleeping, but when he stopped next to the bed, Riley opened his eyes.

"Ben," Riley said a little hoarsely, but he looked relieved to see his friend.

"Abi and I are going to spend the night here. We'll be here in the morning when you wake up."

"Ian got me good, didn't he?" Riley asked, and Ben didn't want to worry him. Riley needed to focus on getting better. Ben put a comforting hand on Riley's shoulder, which was about the only place he could touch him right now without disturbing anything around him.

"Look, Riley, just get better and take whatever medications that the doctors want to shove down your throat, okay? You are going to be fine."

Riley looked doubtful, but nodded anyways, tipping his head slightly since he didn't have the strength to do anything else. Ben stayed with him until his friend slipped back into a peaceful, but drug induced, sleep. Ben lingered by the bed for a couple minutes longer, still seeing the scene of Riley getting shot replaying in his head. He couldn't lose his best friend. Hell, Riley was more then his friend, he was part of his family and Ben knew that it was his fault that Riley was even in the mess in the first place. If it wasn't for Ben, he wouldn't have been there to get shot.

Ben slipped out of the room quietly, with the horrible feeling that he just might lose his best friend.

Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own National Treasure.

A/N: Hey, guys! Thanks for all the wonderful reviews. I hope this chapter is as good as the last one.

Ben found Abigail and his father in the lounge when he came back from Riley's room and they waited anxiously for his report on Riley's condition. Abi had a half empty water bottle sitting in front of her, which Ben took to get a much needed drink before he spoke.

"He wasn't awake for very long, he was tired, but I told him we would be here for him when he woke up," Ben said, sitting down in the chair next to her and rubbing his eyes wearily. Today had been one of the longest days of his life. Glancing up at a clock on the nearby wall, he realized it was about ten o'clock in the evening. Luckily, the day was almost over. What was the saying? Tomorrow is a new day? He certainly hoped so.

"Well, I think we should take it has a good sign that he has awoken so soon," Patrick said from his seat across the table from Ben and Abi.

"Yeah," Abi agreed softly, but she didn't say anything other than that.

"Look, dad, you don't have to stay here tonight. You too, Abi. I appreciate you riding here with me and I know Riley does too, but I don't expect you to have to spend the night here. I know you probably want to get home," Ben stated.

"And what about you, Ben? You're going to spend the night here, aren't you?" Abi questioned and Ben nodded his head without hesitation.

"Of course."

"Then I am, too. We're both going to be here for him in the morning and there's no questioning that."

Ben smiled gratefully at her, and then turned his attention to his father, who merely agreed with Abi.

"We aren't going anywhere," he said. "Now, I don't know about you two, but I need a little bit of sleep."

Even though Ben wasn't looking forward to sleeping on the cots that the hospital had provided for him; he was tired enough not to argue with the statement.

Ben tossed and turned all night long. He didn't get any more then four hours of sleep, because he couldn't stop thinking. All he did was worry and worry some more about Riley and if he was going to be okay when he awoke the next morning, that it was forever until he fell asleep from exhaustion. While Abi and his father had fallen asleep almost instantly after laying down. He wasn't sure how they did it, and he was certain that he would never know. Ben was only glad when morning finally came, and he was able to get out of bed.

He slipped quietly out of the room, trying hard not to disturb Abi or his father who were still sleeping, and had yet to show signs of waking up. He realized once he was in the hallway, that it was early, even for the staff of the hospital. Nearly no one was around and the receptionist behind the desk looked ready to go back to bed. But, Ben didn't mind; he was determined to find out how Riley was doing and he couldn't wait any longer.

Ben was met by the doctor outside of Riley's room, who apparently had just been in there to check on his patient. The doctor gave him a kind smile that put his nerves on edge and he waited for her to spill the news to him.

"Mr. Poole is doing better then we expected," he said and Ben immediately let himself relax a little bit and let out a breath he didn't realize he had been holding. "However, we want to keep him a couple days just to be certain."

Ben thanked the doctor, feeling as if a great weight had been lifted from him. Now, he only had to explain to Riley that he had to spend more time in the hospital. Ben opened the door to Riley's room and was greeted once again by the drab and bleak room. He really didn't like hospitals. Riley was sitting up in his bed this time, and he looked up as Ben came into the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"Hey, you look better," Ben greeted him as he came over to the side of the bed. He wasn't just saying that either, Riley didn't look like he was half dead like yesterday. It was a good improvement. Riley merely half-shrugged, not moving his right shoulder too much so he didn't irritate the side that the bullet went into his chest.

"I just hope I get better soon so I can get out of here," Riley replied. "I hate the food here. They tried feeding me this nasty mush for breakfast, but I am not hungry anymore."

Riley pulled a face that made Ben chuckle softly and inspect said mush that Riley was making the disgusted faces at. He had to agree that it didn't look appetizing. He was glad that during his time here so far that he had stuck to the food from the vending machines.

"Really, it doesn't look that bad," Ben lied and Riley gave him a look that clearly said he thought Ben was crazy.

"Well, then you can eat it because I am not touching it. When do I get to go home?"

Typical Riley to start complaining the moment that he started feeling even the slightest bit better. Ben dreaded having to break it to him that he was going to have to stay for a few more days. Ben took a deep breath and prepared himself before he said,

"Riley, I have some bad news…."

Thanks for reading. I honestly didn't think this chapter was all that exciting, but they are in a hospital…how exciting can it get? Unless someone tries to break in and hurt everyone…but I don't think that is going to happen.


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: I know you have been waiting quite a while for this chapter and I apologize. So, I am making this your early Thanksgiving gift. Early Happy Holidays to everyone! Also, a note to one of my readers daisyduke80, who had given me a suggestion for a chapter. Your idea will be in the beginning of the next chapter, because it will be easier to fit in there. Sorry about the delay on that, too!

"You can't go home for a few days."

There was a long silence in the hospital room in which Riley merely stared at Ben as if to say: _you have got to be kidding me._ Abi was the unfortunate one who had slipped into the room during this awkward silence. She had just woken up and when she had saw that Ben was gone, she decided to come to Riley's room. She had figured that was where he would be and it was a chance for her to check up on her friend, too. Abi took one look at Riley and then one at Ben, looking slightly puzzled at why they were staring at each other.

"Okay, guys, what is going on?"

Riley chose to ignore her. "Ben, what do you mean I have to stay here for a few days?"

"The doctors want to make sure you recover well from the surgery so to be on the safe side they are keeping you here for a few more days," Ben explained, but it didn't help any.

"I am fine," Riley protested and the argument between Ben and Riley continued on from there until Abi got annoyed and yelled for them to stop.

"All right!" she said loudly and both Ben and Riley looked over at her, surprised by her outburst.

"Look, I will talk to the doctors and I will attempt to get you out of here early. If you really are fine like you insist you are, Riley, then the doctors won't mind," she said and Riley cheered up.

"Really?" he asked, looking happier then he had for days.

"No," Ben said, shaking his head. "Abi, we can't take him out of here and then something goes wrong. It's better to be safe then it is sorry. I am not taking the risk of something happening."

"Nothing is going to go wrong!" Riley interjected, and Abi spoke up before the arguing started again. She loved both of them, but when they got into the arguments, she felt like her head was going to explode.

"You," she said pointing to Riley. "Hush and rest so when the doctors come to look at you they do think you are ready to go home. You," she turned this time to Ben. "Stop worrying so much and let me handle things for once."

With that, she walked out of the room and left the two guys staring at her while she left. Riley was the one who broke the silence that followed.

"She's higher on my favorite list now. You're number two."

Ben shook his head, smiling slightly. "We better not regret getting you out of here."

About fifteen minutes later, after Abi had convinced the doctor that she really thought Riley should be able to go home and recover fine, Ben, her, and Patrick were waiting outside of the room for the doctor's report. As much as Abi tried to persuade him, the doctor said he had to have the final say about whether or not Riley was going to be able to go home.

"I can't believe you are doing this," Ben said to her and she shrugged in response.

"Am I not allowed to do something nice?"

Their conversation was interrupted by the doctor coming out and looking exasperated as if Riley had complained to him the whole time the doctor had been in his room. That didn't surprise Ben at all.

"Well, he certainly seems like he is ready to go home, doesn't he?" the doctor said and Ben laughed softly.

"Yes, we would like to get him home and out of your way."

"I will grant him release; however, I would watch him carefully for the next few days. That means he shouldn't be doing anything too strenuous or really doing anything much of all until he gives the wound a chance to heal a little bit more," the doctor said and the list of what he considered strenuous activities went on for several minutes. "I will be sending some medication home with him, also. If he needs any of it for the pain, then the directions will be on the bottle. They are all simple medications, though, so you shouldn't have a problem with them." Then with a final good luck to the Gates family, and a thanks to the doctor, Ben was signing the papers that would release Riley from the hospital.

Riley was exhilarated to be out of the hospital to say the least. He thanked Abi several times as Ben helped him into the car and she even gave up and let him hug her once, laughing softly.

"Riley, it was nothing. Stop thanking me," she replied as she climbed into the passenger's seat of Ben's car.

Ben turned to his father who was heading for his own car right across from Ben's. "Thanks for hanging around, dad," Ben said, pausing at the drivers side door of his car. His father waved the thanks off with his hand.

"Don't worry about it. You and Abi take care of Riley, won't you?" Patrick replied.

"Of course," Ben answered without hesitation. "I try my best."

Thanks for reading. The next chapter should be up a lot quicker then this one was because I have some ideas for the next one ready to go.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure.

A/N: The idea of what this chapter is based around has to do with a suggestion made by one of my loyal reviewers: daisyduke80. I thank her a lot for her ideas that help me continue this story. Also, thank you to all of the people who reviewed the last chapter and have been sticking with me. I really appreciate it.

* * *

"_Don't speak again."_

_Riley fell silent as the gun that Ian was holding was leveled with his chest. "O...kay," he whispered, feeling the slight urge to get the last word in regardless that his life was being threatened. Ben was trying to negotiate with Ian about leaving them down in the tunnels to die, but Ian, being the slightly psychotic person he was, thought that his plan was a good one. Nothing was working to change his mind until Patrick told him the next clue._

_Riley felt a small hope rise in him again that perhaps they wouldn't be left to die in the tunnels, but it was soon dashed as Ian decided to leave them anyways. He had the next clue too, so he would get the treasure and they would die. Excellent combination. Riley's panic overrode his logic and he spoke up again in desperation to make Ian change his mind, even after Ian clearly told him not to talk again. It proved to be a mistake as the gun fired and Riley was powerless to stop it from hitting him. He remembered the falling sensation, the pain in his chest, and Abi's scream of horror before he hit the ground. Riley was almost sure that he could hear Ian laughing evilly in the background, but he wasn't sure if it really happened._

"Riley, wake up!"

Riley jerked awake and immediately regretted it as his wound pulled and a sharp pain ran through him.

"Ow…"

"Are you okay?"

Riley recognized Ben's voice before he looked up to see his friend standing beside his bed. Ben's fingers pried Riley's own away from the injury site so he could make sure that he was okay.

"Do you need some of the meds?" Ben asked and Riley shook his head.

"No, I am fine," he said through gritted teeth, sounding anything but fine. Ben dumped one of the capsules from the medicine bottle into Riley's hand before leaving to retrieve some water to help him get the pill down. He didn't believe the act one bit.

From the hospital, Ben had driven Riley directly to his and Abi's new house. Abi and he had both agreed that it would be easier to watch over Riley if he was in their house with them. Of course, they had told Riley that is was only because they were feeling nice and they wouldn't have let him stay any other time so he didn't protest to the idea. They both knew the real reason. Their new mansion was more then big enough for the three of them, anyhow, and Ben had promised to grab some things from Riley's apartment tomorrow and bring it over for him. For now, though, they had to make it through the night.

Ben handed Riley the glass of water and watched him force down the pill with a grimace. The doctor had warned Ben of possible nightmares that Riley was bound to have, but Ben didn't think that he would have them himself as well. He had already been awake from the nightmares when he had heard Riley having one, too. Every time he closed his eyes, Ben saw Ian shooting Riley and the scene haunted him. He could only imagine what it was like for the person who had actually gotten shot.

"Sorry, I woke you," Riley said, interrupting Ben's train of thoughts.

"I was awake already. I have bad dreams, too."

Riley shifted himself carefully so he was sitting up on the bed, leaning against the headboard. He really wished that he had this laptop with him to keep him occupied and get his mind away from the bad memories.

"You don't plan on going back to sleep any time soon?" Ben asked and Riley shrugged half-heartily.

"I don't think I can until the medication kicks in. I am going to be a druggie for a while, huh?" he said while gesturing to the various medicines lying on the nightstand beside the bed.

"Yeah, at least until the wound is fully healed." Ben fell silent for a minute, watching Riley pick at a loose thread in the blankets. "How about a late night snack to take your mind off of things? Abi bought ice cream," Ben suggested and Riley's mood instantly lifted at the mention of ice cream. He nodded eagerly.

"Okay," Ben said with a small laugh. "I'll bring it up here so you don't have to move too much."

The ice cream was eaten in silence with Riley sitting at the head of the bed with Ben at the foot, leaning against the footboard, facing him. Ben didn't risk starting a conversation until he was almost done eating.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

Riley blinked slowly at him, pausing with a spoonful of ice cream half way up to his mouth.

"No, I just want to eat it."

"Not the ice cream. Your nightmares," Ben replied, scraping out the last of the ice cream from his bowl.

"Is it really a nightmare if it already happened to you?" Riley asked curiously.

"Riley…"

"Honestly, Ben, I don't," Riley answered, practically licking his bowl clean before sitting it on the nightstand, which was becoming crowded. Riley could feel the medication finally starting to work and he was becoming tired to the point where he felt detached from reality. Ben seemed to notice.

Ben stacked his own bowl in Riley's and debated taking one of Riley's medications for himself since it worked well.

"Maybe another time, Ben…" Riley said as he got back under the covers and started to drop back off into sleep almost instantly. Ben counted the seconds that it took him to fall asleep. It was only about eight. Ben watched him for a long time from his seat at the end of the bed. After he deemed that Riley was in a peaceful sleep, he quickly followed him. It chased his own bad dreams away knowing that the kid was safe.


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: Wow, it certainly has been a long, long time since I have updated and the only thing that I can say is sorry. I don't have some great excuse to tell you. Also, thank you so much for all of the wonderful reviews. I considered leaving this story, but then I realized that you guys deserved another chapter at the very least.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure.

* * *

Abigail was the first one awake the next morning and she frowned in concern when she noticed that Ben wasn't sleeping beside her. His side of the bed was empty, but the sheets were rumpled as if he had at least tried to sleep there last night. He had mentioned to her that he had nightmares about the incident under Trinity Church and that he couldn't sleep. It worried her as much as she was worried about Riley. She couldn't be sure of the last time that Ben had gotten a full night's sleep and to be honest she wasn't having an easy time getting one either. The odd dreams of what could have been that day plagued her and she knew that she saw the hypothetical question that Ben continued to think about.

What if Riley had died?

She didn't know if Ben would ever recover from something like that. Even she, who didn't know Riley for that long, didn't want to think about losing him. Other then the nightmares, she knew that Ben worried about Riley. She knew that he had taken to getting up in the middle of the night to check on him even though nothing had ever gone wrong. He still worried that one night it might and he wouldn't be there to help.

Abi got out of bed, planning on finding him and talking to him. Councilors that she had seen on TV, talking to other people about their problems, had mentioned that talking was the best thing when it came to getting over a traumatic experience. Maybe it would be worth the effort if it would help them finally move past what happened that day. There was only one problem and that was that Ben and Riley weren't the most talkative people when it came to discussing feelings. Though, she didn't blame it entirely on them alone, she had come to the conclusion that it was mainly a guy trait.

Abi crept down the hallway quietly, not wishing to disturb Riley who was sleeping in one of the guest rooms not far from her and Ben's own room. However, when she approached Riley's door, she noticed that the door was slightly ajar. She leaned in to close it, but paused when she realized that she had found her missing husband. He was lying across the foot of Riley's bed; sound asleep, even though he didn't look very comfortable. Riley, too, was asleep at the top of the bed and Abi couldn't stop the small smile that slipped across her face. She debated getting her camera and blackmailing them with the pictures later.

Abi took note of the ice cream bowls stacked on the stand next to the bed and the bottle of Riley's prescription. She drew the conclusion that neither of them had been able to sleep last night so they had entertained each other until they had finally passed out from exhaustion. That was true for Ben anyways; Riley had most likely taken the pills to help him sleep. Abi shut the door, letting it click shut softly behind her as she left the room before retreating to the kitchen to make breakfast.

* * *

Ben was the second one awake of the three. It was the smell of Abi cooking breakfast in the kitchen that awoke him. He blinked open his eyes; wondering briefly why he was neither in his bedroom nor in his own bed and that was definitely not Abi sleeping with him.

Riley.

The nightmares.

It was coming back to him now. He sat up slowly, wincing as the bed creaked slightly, but a glance at Riley confirmed that he was still asleep. Ben stretched and tried to work out the kinks in his back from sleeping in an odd position all night. He took the bowls from the stand and left the room to see what Abi was cooking for breakfast. He found Abi in the kitchen with breakfast mostly prepared and she smiled when she saw him like she knew a big secret that he didn't.

"What did I do?" he asked, trying to decipher what the expression on her face meant.

"Nothing," Abi replied "Good morning to you, too."

"Good morning," Ben said back and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. "Breakfast looks great. I can't wait to eat."

He grabbed some plates out of the cupboard above Abi's head and placed them beside her so that she could heap them full of the food she had made. He took one of the plates that she had filled and took his seat at the table. Abi sat beside him, and a silence fell between them as they ate. The only noises made for a few minutes were of the forks scraping on the plates. Finally, Abi stepped up to the plate and broke the silence to start the conversation that she knew Ben wouldn't want to have.

"Ben, we need to talk," she said quietly.

Ben paused in his eating and groaned in his head. It was never a good sign when someone started a conversation that way and he knew it meant that he wouldn't like what he was about to hear.

"About what?" he questioned before taking a few more big mouthfuls of his food.

"It's about what happened in the tunnels and what we need to do now," Abi explained. "These nightmares everyone is having and I just think that we need to talk."

"Shouldn't Riley be included in this conversation? After all he was the one that got hurt," Ben said. He didn't like to think about that day and he wasn't exactly sure why Abi wanted to talk about.

"Yes," Abi replied slowly, making Ben feel a little bit stupid. "But, he is sleeping right now and I can't have a conversation with him while he is sleeping. Though, I probably won't have much luck when he is awake either when it comes to this topic."

"I know what you are getting to, Abi, but I don't really want to talk about it and I would understand if Riley doesn't either. It is just too painful and real. What if he would have died down there? What if he was shot and we didn't get him to help in time? Do you know how many things could have gone wrong that would have led to his death? I can't even bear to think what my life would be like if I lost my best friend."

Without realizing it, Ben had just blurted out that Abi had wanted to talk about. He paused as Abi considered what he had said. Maybe she was right after all; he did feel kind of better to confide in her about his fears of that day. He just couldn't shake the feeling that he was so close to losing his friend and he didn't want anything like that to ever happen again.

"There I said it," Ben said and Abi nodded in agreement.

"It wasn't so bad was it? Now we just need to have this conversation all over again with Riley and we might actually start to get somewhere. I knew this would work," Abi said with confidence.

"Wait, you mean, I am going to have to repeat that?" Ben asked, following Abi as she took her plate into the kitchen to put in the sink for washing later.

"Yes! You'll be fine, I promise," Abi persuaded him and they both turned as they heard footsteps coming down the stairs.

Riley appeared soon afterwards, looking slightly disheveled. "I smelled breakfast," he said as if to explain his presence.

"Here you go, Riley," Abi said while handing him a plate of breakfast that she had saved. He mumbled a thank you and then took a seat at the table. Abi nudged Ben to follow him and gave him a look that said he better follow her lead when she started the conversation. Ben had a feeling that this was going to be a painful conversation.


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Okay, guys, this is the last chapter to this story because I really need to end this thing somewhere. Thank you to all of you that have stuck with me through this. It has been a little rough at times, I think, but I made it and that's all that counts, right? So on with the final chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own National Treasure

* * *

They all took their places at the dinning room table where dinner was normally eaten. Ben and Abi watched as Riley half-heartedly poked at his food with his fork, not really eating half of it. It all smelled delicious but he just didn't feel like eating it. He raised his gaze after a moment of rearranging the food on his plate to look at Ben and Abi. 

"Why are you staring? You are creeping me out," he complained with a trademark whine.

"We are sorry, Riley," Abi was quick to apologize. "How do you feel today?"

"Fine."

That was his answer every day. In fact, Ben was certain that that was the first thing he said after he had been shot. Don't worry, Ben, I am fine. Ben wasn't quite sure why he did it. He just chalked it down as one of Riley's many odd traits. It wasn't going to change anytime soon either.

"Riley, we need to talk," Ben said starting out the conversation like Abi had to him. Maybe that way everything would go smoother. Surprisingly, Riley put down his fork and sighed softly, not meeting Ben's gaze.

"Yeah, I know."

"You do?" Ben asked, trying to hide his surprise. It wasn't like Riley to openly admit that they needed to talk. Usually he tried everything in his power to make him believe that they didn't need to talk.

"It's about those nightmares…" Riley started out slowly; hesitating slightly but Ben and Abi were quiet to silently will him on. "The one the other night was of that day. It just haunts me and it won't leave."

Another pause.

"But I had a second one that I didn't tell you about. Even after you came with the ice cream and then I fell back asleep."

Ben couldn't help feeling guilty. He had been sleeping how close to Riley last night and he still hadn't known that his friend was suffering. He should have stayed awake to make sure that he was going to be all right.

"What was it about?" Abi prompted gently.

"The same day, but it was different. The outcome wasn't the same," Riley swallowed hard and the pained look on his face couldn't be mistaken. "Ben was shot and not me."

"_I said don't speak again."_

_The gun discharged and Riley flinched in anticipation of the bullet that was about to hit him, but it never came. Abi screamed and he opened his eyes to find that Ben had got in the path of the bullet. Ben had taken the shot for him._

"_Ben!"_

"_Oh no, Ben!"_

_Riley was on the ground instantly beside his friend, trying desperately to see where the wound was and stop the bleeding._ _This couldn't be happening. It wasn't supposed to happen like this. Ben couldn't die. He just couldn't. Ben's hand managed to reach up and grab onto Riley's arm that was putting pressure to the wound. His eyes were clenched shut in pain, but he seemed to know that it was Riley beside him._

"_Riley…"_

"_Ben, why did you do that? You shouldn't have done that," Riley said frantically, the panic was clear in his voice. Abi was kneeled beside Ben's head and looking at loss of what to do to help. It was Patrick that finally broke the moment and ultimately got them into action._

"_We have to find a way out of here now and before it's too late for Ben," he said as he took Riley's place. "Look for a way out while I watch him. You and Abi, go!"_

"_But I…" Riley was not ready to leave Ben especially after what had happened, but Abi pulled him up from behind by a fist full of his hoddie._

"_Come on, Riley, we have to look."_

_The same panic was also present in her voice as they ran into the next room and searched for another way out._

"_This is hopeless," Riley said after a minute of looking. "This is all my fault," he added, but Abi refused to give up so easily._

"_Hey, wait! I found something. Look at these shapes! They have to represent something," she said while pointing them out to Riley. They looked oddly familiar to him._

"_The pipe! We need the pipe," he thought for a moment before running back over to Ben and Patrick. "Ben has the pipe!"_

_Patrick managed to fish the pipe out of one of Ben's coat pockets. "Hurry," he urged as he handed the pipe over. Abi took the pipe while Riley stayed by Ben to whisper, "Please, please don't leave me, Ben."_

Abi grabbed Ben's hand underneath the table as Riley told his story and squeezed it comfortingly.

"Riley, I am fine though," Ben said, trying to cheer his friend up. "I am right here and I am fine."

"I know," Riley replied softly. "But, it was so real."

At that, Abi got up from her place at the table across from him and hurried over his side to give him a hug. He didn't really react to it, still having his gaze fixed firmly on the table. Ben wasn't sure how to reply. Luckily, Abi was good at this type of thing.

"We are all safe now. You don't have to worry about what could have been because it is all over and we are all going to be all right which is what really matters. If you start thinking about all the what ifs then you are going to drive yourself crazy."

"I know. I can't stop them," Riley replied. "But, thank you, Abi."

"No problem, Riley, but you need to eat so quit pushing your breakfast around. It is getting cold," she scolded, sounding like her usual self again. The comment made both Riley and Ben smile before she left to go back to work in the kitchen. Their was a small pause before Ben decided it was time to speak up and end his part of the conversation as well.

"She is right, you know," Ben commented.

"Of course she is right. She is Abi," Riley replied with a small snort. He started to finally eat his breakfast though.

"I am serious though. We all made it through and that is all that counts," Ben added.

"I know, but that doesn't help the nightmares any."

"Those will have to go away in time, I guess," Ben said. "I don't know if I will ever forget what happened that day and neither will you."

Riley silently agreed. "I am sorry, Ben, to be bothering you like this…"

"Riley, you are not a problem. Don't even get me started on that topic," Ben warned. "I'll tell you what….we can go to the movies or something like that later and get our minds off of things. How does that sound to you?"

Riley seemed to perk up at the idea of making Ben go to the movies with him. Usually the guy didn't want to watch anything that didn't have some historical value to it and couldn't often be dragged to the theater. "I get to pick the movie?" he asked, sounding hopeful.

"Yes, you can pick. I will convince Abi to come with us, too," Ben said.

"Convince me of what?" Abi asked, entering the dinning room once more with a curious look on her face.

"Going to the movies later," Ben said. "What do you think?"

"Sounds great!" Abi answered with a smile. It was a good idea for all of them. "With all the money we have, we could just go from movie to movie while we are there and see them all," she joked.

The three of them laughed at that, even though it was true. Maybe things were finally going to get back to normal again. Ben really hoped that they would.

* * *

Thanks again, everyone! I love all of your reviews 


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